A Place in the Sky
by badluckfan
Summary: SPOILERS! Takes place after the series! Something is different about the Lost Ground after the fight with Mujo. What's an alter to do with eternity?
1. A New Home

**A Place in the Sky**

** CHAPTER 1: A NEW HOME **

**SECTION 1: HOLD**

"That's strange, I don't feel any different."

Scheris's eyes glided over the streets and buildings of the vacant city. Her short blue hair sown like sapphire and her gold and white hair barrette glistened in the sunlight. She stood there wearing her usual HOLY uniform, unfortunately this wasn't a usual situation.

"So this is what it's like? Pretty boring if you ask me. If only Ryuho was here then it wouldn't be so bad. Then again I did come here so that Ryuho wouldn't have to."

Scheris sat down on the street curb, put her elbows on her knees, and rested her head within the palms of her hands. She released a deep sigh.

The once crowded streets and noisy side walks were now empty and silent. A few individuals still lived within the surrounding walls of the city, but life now was different.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Scheris asked herself aloud, she seemed to make a habit of talking to herself.

"Well for starters you could get up off the sidewalk. You just might see some familiar old faces if you looked around."

Scheris froze like a corpse in ice, while her mind went whirling.

"That voice sounds so familiar, but how could that be? It just couldn't be... not _here._" She thought to herself.

Cautiously she began to slowly turn around. It wasn't as if she was afraid of what would happen, but rather that she was afraid of what might _had_ happened.

Immediately after she had turned around, her jaw dropped. Then here eyelids began to slowly separate themselves from each other. Her eyes bulged as she stood there, in front of the HOLD building, completely and utterly dumbfounded.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost or something, so to speak."

Commander Zigmarl sat in his chair staring blankly at his desk.

He was a young man but looked like someone much older due to circumstances somewhat beyond his control. His shoulder length brown hair was brushed out of his face making the wrinkles on his forehead more visible.

There was a mixed array of papers sitting before him, worker profiles, report folders, a few photographs, a couple old receipts. It seemed ironic, even satirical that the pieces of paper that once held so much importance now meant nothing at all, and those papers that were meaningless seemed to somehow mean so much.

They were all just memories now, no real meaning but that. But what else was there but memories in this place?

His office door flew open.

"Commander Zigmarl, you wished to see me?" The pink haired man took a deep bow to go with his theatrical entrance. He was a tall man of African decent who often loved to make his presence known.

"Ah yes, Unkei, would you like to take a seat?" Commander Zigmarl asked as he held out a hand directing the man to the chair in front of him.

Unkei took the seat.

"Unkei, why do you come here to work with HOLY still?" Zigmarl asked the play write.

Unkei thought about this question for a few minutes. He had asked himself this question everyday and it seemed that he knew the answer but didn't know how to put it into words.

"The same reason as you." The pink haired man finally responded.

The Commander's eyebrows rose at this response. Why were any of them here still? What made them return?

Zigmarl let out a deep sigh, then nodded.

"Very well, you may go continue your duties now."

"Was that all Commander?"

"That was all."

Unkei rose from the chair and walked over to the door. He hesitated for a moment as he looked down at his HOLY uniform, then looked back at the Commander. Zigmarl was, once again, staring at the papers on his desk. A small frown appeared on his face as Unkei walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Zigmarl stopped and leaned back in his chair and took a long look around his office.

"Is this all it really is?" The commander asked himself, "There must be more to this place then I'm seeing."

Commander Zigmarl then rose from behind his desk, and left the room.

**Section 2: The Streets**

"When I'm running, and really in a pinch, he will come save me, for him it's a synch."

The singing of the little boy echoed through the crisp air over the desolate streets.

"Why, hello there," an old man said to the singing child, "what's your name?"

Startled, the little boy jumped up and backed up against a wall.

The old man gave a friendly smile as he looked over his half-moon spectacles at the boy. Tsume was a far from being an intimidating man. His hair was white from age and conservatively cut short. He wore a blue plaid button-up shirt with khaki slacks. Something about his presence gave a soothing effect, but the child was frightened none the less.

"It's alright, I'm not going to harm you." Tsume said as he bent down to the boy's height, "Who's that you've got there?"

The little boy looked down at the doll in his right hand, it looked like some form of robot.

"My friend." The little boy finally answered.

"Ah," the old man replied, "I see. I bet that this friend of yours is very special and not like any ordinary friend."

The boy held the robot doll up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. "He is special. He is my undefeated hero." The boy said, as he begin to gain more confidence. "He always helps me."

Tsume gave a warm smile to him. "That's wonderful, but who are you?"

"My name is..." he paused for a moment as if not sure whether or not it was safe to answer, "Emergy Maxfell."

"I thought so." Tsume said in his gentle voice as he stood up. "Emergy, would you like to go with me somewhere, perhaps to get something to eat? You have a lot to learn from me right now and it seems that I have a lot I can learn from you."

Emergy sat for a moment thinking over this offer. He looked back and forth between the doll and the old man. Finally deciding that Tsume looked like someone that he could trust he agreed to go with him and the two headed down the street together.

**Section 3: Back at HOLD**

Scheris stood in disbelief, as she gazed at her visitor's face.

"You're here too? But how? What happened?" Scheris asked, her mind seemed to be working faster then she could speak.

He was a tall, lean, strong young man. His posture was casual yet confident as he stood there in his HOLY uniform. As he looked at her he pushed up his pink shades so that his orange slicked back hair held them on top of his head.

"I made a choice, same as you." Cougar answered.

Scheris blushed, he was obviously referring to what had happened in the cave between her and Ryuho.

"So," Scheris began as if not sure what to say next, "why did we come _here_, and what happens next?"

Cougar's eyebrows rose at this question, "Isn't it obvious?" he asked.

She just stood there on the deserted sidewalk looking up at him. Cougar always knew things that no one else except for the commander himself ever knew.

The speedster just gave a slight smile after a few minutes. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." Cougar then slid down his glasses onto his nose and flicked up the stray bang that hung in front of his face.

The two then turned their gaze to the HOLD building as if the answers were within its walls, even though they knew that this was something way bigger then HOLY, HOLD or the battle between the mainland and the Lost Ground.


	2. A New Life

**Chapter 2: A New Life**

**Section 4: The Lost Ground**

"Yay! Watch this Ayase!" the young boy yelled.

"I'm watching Akira." The girl replied. Her brown hair was pulled back and she wore a brown jacket. The boy was jumping from rock to rock. His happy laughter was like music to Ayase's ears.

"Hey, Ayase!" a voice called out. A young man with short brown hair was smiling and standing next to a car. He wore a green jacket over an orange shirt with khaki pants.

"Kimishima!" Ayase's eyes lit up when she saw him. She loved him so but could never find the courage to tell him how she felt. She was always spent all of her time worried about her brother's health, but she didn't have to worry about that anymore.

This was far from being heaven, but it was close enough to Ayase. Here she was with her parents again and she could be with her brother. She felt guilty for thinking it, but she liked how there weren't really any goodbyes here, just hellos.

"Hi Mr. Kimishima!" Akira yelled as he jumped down and ran towards the young man.

"Hey there Akira, how are you?"

"I'm great. Ayase and I where just about to go to lunch, would like to come with us?"

Kimishima looked up at Ayase who showed a smile of approval, "I'd love to."

**Section 5: A Long Awaited Confession**

"That was great, thank you." Kimishima said, after he finished his meal.

"Don't mention it." Ayase replied.

Akira jumped up, "I'll do the dishes." He grabbed their plates from the small squar table, and stacked them on top of each other. He wanted to give them some privacy together. He loved Kimishima and how happy Ayase always was when he was around. They were always smiling when the other was near, even a fool could tell that they were in love.

Kimishima waited until he could hear the dishes being washed in the sink in the kitchen.

"Um... Ayase, there's been something that I've been meaning to tell you." Kimishima said as he began rubbing the back of his neck. He was nervous, but this was finally it. He had been waiting to tell Ayase how he felt for some time now.

Ayase tried to calm her breathing, she, too, was nervous. She already knew what the topic was going to be. She had played out scenario after scenario of it in her head, but still couldn't help it.

"I... er... Ayase, I love you." the words were soft as they floated in the air. "I always have. I meant to tell you earlier but things always came up. First I had work and was finding jobs for Kazuma and my self, there was the problem with HOLD, then there was the Main Land..."

"I know," Ayase said, cutting him off, "I've always felt the same."

He looked at her and made a dry gulp.

"But it wasn't just you, it was me too. I always was so worried about my brother that I had no time for anything else. After I was refined on the mainland they took Akira to a hospital. When I was fighting Kazuma I found out about what happened to you, a few moments later Akira died. I could no longer live in a world where the ones that I truly loved weren't by my side."

There was a moment of silence.

"And now, is there time?" Kimishima asked, his voice shaking a little.

She gave a short, airless laugh and looked into his eyes, "it looks like time is no longer an issue."

Kimishima lightly put his hand on her cheek. She placed her hand over the back of his to better feel his warmth on her flesh.

She smiled, "It's funny, isn't it? How something that you never had in life, you could suddenly have in death."

He slowly leaned forward until their lips touched. She slightly parted her lips at the touch of his upon them, and her heart began to race. Her lips seemed as soft as rose petals to him as he kissed her.

Akira gently closed the door to the kitchen the rest of the way. He was so happy for them. Ayase had always spent all her time taking care of him, now she finally could do something for herself.

He then walked over to the sink and finish drying the dishes.


	3. Tsume

**Chapter 3: Tsume**

**Section 6: The Café**

"How are you liking your sandwich?" Tsume asked Emergy.

"It's very good. Thank you," the boy answered.

"Well that's good," the old man said, "so what were you doing running around on the streets?"

"I... I don't remember,"

"Ah, I see. Do you remember anything that happened before that?"

Emergy thought for a moment, "it's really fuzzy."

"That's alright," Tsume said before taking a sip of his coffee.

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you and angel?" the boy asked, looking over at the man.

Tsume laughed, "something like that."

They finished their meal and Tsume looked down at his watch, "Oh, we had better get going."

"Get going?" the child asked, "get going to where?"

The elder looked down and smiled at the boy, "there's a very important meeting that I think you would like to go to."

**Section 7: Inside HOLD**

"So, shall we enter?" Cougar asked Scheris, they had been standing in front of the building for some time now.

"I don't see what else there is to do," Scheris replied. Cougar stepped forward and opened one of the double doors, "After you," he said a slight bow.

The blue haired girl hesitated, then entered the building; Cougar, of course, followed. Once inside they were greeted by a familiar face, "Dost my eyes deceive me? Surely that which I see could not possibly be real." Theatric as usual, Unkei was standing next to a table.

"I thought that you sucked yourself into one of your stories, what are you doing here?" Scheris asked the playwright.

"Well yes, but my beautiful story seemed to have a fatal error in it," he responded.

"Wow," Scheris thought to herself, "that's the first time I ever heard him admit that there was anything wrong with one of his works."

"I'm sure the Commander would like to see you," Unkei said. Cougar had figured as much but Scheris was shocked when she heard this. "Commander Zigmarl? " she asked.

"He's in his office," Unkei said, and with that he left the room to attend to his duties. Together, Cougar and Scheris proceeded to their boss's office.

Zigmarl heard an unexpected knock at the door, "Come in." Cougar opened the office door, allowing Scheris to enter first.

Commander Zigmarl stood up out of his chair, staring in disbelief at the two HOLY members. "Why hello Commander," Cougar said with a smile.

"Both of you here too?" Zigmarl asked aloud, finding his composure. "So it would seem," Cougar responded.

"It appears that HOLY hasn't been doing so well," the Commander said, "fighting Mujo has been damaging to us."

"You mean the fight with Mujo was damaging," Cougar corrected.

Commander Zigmarl raised his eyebrows at this last statement, "So he was defeated?"

"Yes, by Kazuya but you may better know him as NP3228," Cougar said, mispronouncing Kazuma's name.

"Really? My, he is powerful, but I would have thought Ryuho would have been the one to finish him off," the Commander said.

"Ryuho was fighting the Mysterious Alter at the time," Cougar replied.

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. An old man with white hair and glasses along with a small boy with a doll came into the office.

"Hello," the elderly man said, "I presume that you are Commander Zigmarl?"

**Section 8: A Meeting**

"Yes, I am the Commander," Zigmarl stated, "and you are?"

"My name is Tsume," the elder replied and then turned to the child, "and I believe you already know little Emergy here." Zigmarl stopped for a moment and stared at the boy. He saw that the child held a robot doll, "Emergy? Emergy Maxfell?"

Emergy looked up at the Commander trying to remember who this man was. "Emergy, do you remember Commander Zigmarl?" Tsume asked the boy. Emergy thought for a moment, "I don't know." Tsume simply smiled, "That's alright, it'll come to you soon enough."

"What? But how can he be..." Scheris was cut off by the Commander, "that makes sense," he said.

"How?" the blue haired girl asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I myself look different then when I died," the Commander replied.

"So it was your alter that brought you here," Cougar said, confirming what he had speculated.

"How did you know that?" Scheris asked the Speedster.

"The Commander is only a few years our senior, haven't you ever wondered why he appears to be much older?" Cougar asked her. Scheris had always believed, along with most of HOLY, that the Commander appeared to be older because of the stress of his job.

They all turned to Emergy who didn't understand what was going on and scooted himself behind Tsume to try to get out of view.

"Tsume was it? Who exactly are you?" the Commander asked the elder.

"My job is to help with the transition to here," Tsume said.

"What is here? What is this?" Scheris asked.

"What is this?" Tsume repeated, "It's just a place in the sky."


	4. A Second Chance

** Chapter 4: A Second Chance **

**Section 9: Hammer**

"He has been such a great help to us," said an elder woman, "I just don't know what we would do without him."

"He has been a blessing," replied her husband, "he could be a bully sometimes, but he has always had a good heart."

The sun rays came down on the Lost Ground. It was dawn and the dew on the verdant grass shone like diamonds.

The clanking sound of wood being thrown down moved through the crisp air.

"Oh, my dear, you're here so early," the woman said with a smile.

The visitor continued to add wood to the stack. He was a relatively large man, with black shoulder-length hair and wore a red open vest that showed his bare chest.

"Biff, my boy, would you like some tea?" the elder man asked.

"That's alright sir," Biff said, looking around, "say, does anyone have a hammer?"

**Section 10: Tryst**

It was a beautiful day, the sun's rays came down and warmed the earth. A few white clouds floated through the sky, carried by the light breeze.

Ayase stood in awe, looking down at the Lost Ground from an outlook. She lifted her hand and brushed her brown bangs from her eyes.

Kimishima stood next to her. It was an amazing view, but he found what was by his side to be far more breathtaking. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as he watched her eyes take in the sites.

"Beautiful," Kimishima said softly.

"Yes," Ayase replied as she looked out at the ocean, "it really is."

Kimishima smiled, "I wasn't talking about the view."

She turned to look at him with a slight look of surprise on her face. Her cheeks lightly colored at his remark.

He looked at the view for the first time since they arrived on the cliff. The back of his hand lightly bumped Ayase's, she laced her fingers with his. The two inners looked at the beauty around them.

**Section 11: The Cricket's Music**

Kimishima and Ayase walked on the road back home. It was twilight and the music of the crickets was just starting to fill the air.

They arrived to the front of Ayase's home. "Thank you, for today," she said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Your welcome," he whispered into her ear.

An almost blinding light shot through the sky. It made a sound like a sonic bang, and the ground shook.

The lover's embrace broke as a result, and they both looked around.

"What was that?" Ayase asked, her voice trembling.

"I don't know," Kimishima answered, "Ayase, you should go inside. I'm going to go find out what happened."

"If you go then I'm going with you," she stated.

"I'll be fine," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

Ayase opened her mouth to protest but was cut off.

"Please Ayase, just stay here. I'll see you in the morning," and with that he lightly kissed her on the cheek and ran in the direction that the disturbance came from.

The song of the crickets grew louder and the girl stood there and watched as the one she loved faded into the darkness of the night.


	5. Some Explanations

** Chapter 5: Some Explanations **

**Section 12: Back at the Meeting **

Everyone was sitting in the chairs in the commander's office as they spoke with Tsume.

"So, is this heaven?" Scheris asked Tsume.

"Well," the old man replied, "not exactly."

"Then is it purgatory?"

Tsume laughed, "No my dear, it is not."

"Well, this certainly isn't the _real_ Lost Ground," Zigmarl stated.

"That statement isn't entirely correct either," Tsume said as he cleaned his lenses, obviously this was going to take a while.

Putting back on his glasses, Tsume began to try and explain the situation. "You see, when the Great Uprising occurred twenty-two years ago, it caused some shifts in nature. Clearly one of the most obvious changes was the creation of the alter user," he paused for a moment to think, "and one of the changes was this place here."

The others looked around at each other, not knowing where this was going.

The elder continued, "the Kanagawa Prefecture left an imprint on the natural order and was able to occupy both the third and the fifth dimensions simultaneously."

"What are the dimensions?" Scheris asked, becoming more and more confused.

"The third dimension," Cougar answered, "are the directions up and down, north and south, east and west. It is basically space, for example the world is of the third dimension. The fourth dimension is time. The fifth dimension, however, is the combination of both the third and the fourth."

Emergy sat silently with a puzzled look on his face. They might as well had been speaking a foreign language, he would have understood just as much.

"Okay, so we are currently in the fifth dimension, what exactly does that mean?" Commander Zigmarl asked.

"It means that you are all on _the_ Lost Ground, but you don't occupy the same time as you once did," Tsume said.

"So does that mean that we are in some kind of Lost Ground of the past? Or maybe the future?" Scheris asked as it began to slowly make sense.

"No. Think of it as more of a parallel universe," Tsume replied.

The blue haired girl hung her head, "Who would have thought that the afterlife would be so confusing?" she asked rhetorically.

**Section 13: An Unexpected Visit**

Whatever had fallen from the sky seemed to land somewhere in the meadow, and was giving off a dimming light. Kimishima ran towards it.

As he approached he thought he heard a groan come from behind some large rocks. He paused for a moment, he hadn't thought that whatever it was would be something living.

He continued to proceed with caution. Kimishima hunched over to try and make himself less noticeable. He was now behind the boulders, and looked to the other side of them with caution.

Nothing. There was nothing there at all. He poked his head out some more to get a better view. There was a slight divot in the dirt as if something had slammed into the earth.

Suddenly Kimishima was grabbed from behind and torn away from the rock. It was late, and the darkness of the night provided cover for his assailant.

He turned to hit his opponent and his fist glanced off their shoulder. He was then thrown to the ground, knocking the air out of him.

Kimishima gasped, trying to regain his breath. His attacker took this opportunity to get on top of him and pin him down.

Kimishima's eyes began to focus.

His opponent looked at him, "Wha...!"

The two stared at each other wide-eyed. They were panting as their brains worked frantically to try and process what just happened.

Kimishima just couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Ka... Kazuma!"

**Section 14:Breakfast **

It was morning, and the HOLY members were in the cafeteria eating their breakfast.

"Good morning," Tsume said to the group as he sat down at the table. Emergy ran up to sit beside him, the boy was still shy and rarely left the elder man's side.

Everyone just gave awkward smiles. They were still trying to process their new situation.

Even though the talkative playwright Unkei was there, they all sat in silence while looking down at their plates. Tsume either didn't notice or didn't really care.

"So," the older man began, "did you all hear the bang last night?"

The others looked up at him.

"I heard it," the pink-haired alter replied, "but I didn't really think anything of it."

"Why? What was it?" Commander Zigmarl asked.

Tsume took a sip of his orange juice and then set it back down. He looked over at the commander, "It seems that we may have an unexpected visitor here on the Lost Ground."


	6. The Other Side

** Chapter 6: The Other Side **

**Section 15: The Light from the Sky**

Kazuma stared in equal disbelief, "Kimishima?" He got up off of his old friend and Kimishima stood up off the ground.

They looked each other up and down, as if not sure that they could believe their eyes.

The boy in the green jacket raised an eyebrow, "Wa..., what are you doing here?" he asked the alter user.

"Me! You... I mean... is it really you?" Kazuma asked.

Kimishima didn't know what to say. What was happening? Was this real? Could he be dreaming, or maybe this whole thing was a dream. Maybe he was lying in a comma, trapped in a deep sleep caused from his wounds he got at the playground.

"Is this a dream?" Kazuma thought aloud.

Kimishima gave an awkward smile, "you read my mind."

"I don't believe this," the alter user stated, "how could I ever believe that _you're_ Kimishima? I mean, Kimishima is..." he trailed off.

"You don't believe that it's _me_?" Kimishima asked in disbelief. After all, how could he believe that the person standing in front of him covered in dirt was his old friend?

"It's me," Kimishima said, "believe me."

"Ya, right," Kazuma responded.

"I knew Kazuma better than anyone. He was the best alter in the Lost Ground. Sure he was tough, but he had a great heart. We would get paid tons for jobs, and even though he needed the money he would give it all to a child in a heart beat if he saw that they needed it more." Kimishima said, remembering all the times he found Kazuma working at the farm trying to get enough money to eat even though they just had a big job.

Kazuma stood with his mouth agape, "but, how could you be Kimishima? I was carrying him when he died, I was the one that had to go into the alter forest and..."

"Wow," Kimishima responded, eyes beginning to water, "it's been a while Kazuma."

**Section 16: Two Worlds**

"A Visitor? _Here_? What do you mean Tsume?" The HOLY commander asked.

"How can someone just be a visitor on this Lost Ground?" Scheris asked the elder.

"Well, it's just as the word implies," Tsume responded, "he's a visitor."

Zigmarl was becoming annoyed with Tsume's habit of not just being straight forward, "a visitor? Wouldn't that mean..."

"That he's still alive," Cougar finished the thought.

"Exactly," Tsume said, reaching for the salt to add to his eggs.

Scheris put her head in her hands, everything with Tsume seemed to be a riddle.

The older man wiped his chin with his napkin, setting it back down next to his plate he looked at the others and continued, "the 'bang' came from the speed of the ball of light that shot through the sky."

Unkei laughed, "light doesn't make sound."

"No, it doesn't. But the mass that the light was carrying could," Tsume responded to the play write's comment.

"Like a sonic boom?" Cougar inquired.

"Not this one," the elder responded, "it didn't brake the sound barrier, it broke another barrier."

"Oh really?" Commander Zigmarl asked. What other barrier could have that same reaction?

Tsume finished chewing the last bite of his eggs, "he broke through the barrier between the two worlds."

**Section 17: Hospital**

Kimishima knocked on the door of Kazuma's house.

The alter user answered the door looking a little groggy.

"Hey Kazuma. Um... er... sleep well?" the Inner asked.

"Quit the small talk, would ya?" Kazuma asked as he rubbed his temple.

"Right, sorry."

"Are you ganna come in or do you prefer standing in the doorway?"

Kimishima walked into the familiar rundown hospital that Kazuma lived in. He plopped down into the doctor's chair, he wasn't able to sleep at all last night and was exhausted.

Kimishima let out a long sigh, "I just don't understand."

"Me neither, it just doesn't make much sense," Kazuma said. He was leaning against a counter holding a glass of water.

"So, you're _not_ dead, right?"

"Are you crazy! Common, it's me!"

"That's why I don't get it. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was fighting that damned Ryuho. We ended up in some kind of gate that was created my the Mysterious Alter. Ryuho used some move with Zetsuei that sent me flying. There was a crack in the gate, and I slammed right into it. The next thing I knew, was that I was lying in the dirt, you know what happened from there."

"Ya," Kimishima responded. He looked lazily around the room, and then out the window. The sun was high in the sky, it was almost noon. Suddenly he jumped up out of the chair as if it was on fire.

Kazuma was startled and dropped his glass, shattering it.

"What's your problem Kimishima!" the alter user exclaimed, looking at the new mess on the floor.

"I told Ayase I'd see her this morning and tell her what that was last night. I have to go man, I'll see you later!" and with that Kimishima jumped out the hospital's open window and bolted towards his girlfriend's home.


	7. Haunted

Chapter 7: Haunted 

Section 18: By My Side

Kimishima, Kazuma and Ayase all stood in silence in front of the old rundown hospital.

"I..." Ayase found difficulty with what she wanted to say, "I'm sorry Kazuma."

Kazuma, surprised at the unexpected apology, looked over at the other alter user with a puzzled expression upon his face.

"I shouldn't have fought you like that."

Kazuma gave a little smile, "Don't worry about it. I understand why you did what you did, and there's no reason why you should let the past trouble you in the present."

"Oh, that's right," Kimishima said, "you fought Kazuma your last day alive."

Having it said so bluntly was painful. Ayase turned away, too ashamed to look at him. "I didn't see any other option," as she said this her eyes began to fill with tears. "It was the only way I saw that I could save my brother."

"Come on Ayase. It was a lousy position that they put you in, you just did what you thought was best," Kazuma said, trying to console her.

Ayase used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, "He was getting weaker and sicker each day, and there was nothing I could do but watch his pain grow. They said that the only way that they would help him was if I did what they said."

"And they said to fight Kazuma," Kimishima said, more to himself then to the others. "But you did fight Kazuma. So why are you and Akira here?" He only knew a part of the story but never quite found out how they both had died.

"Akira died while we were fighting. There was nothing the hospital he was in could do for him," Ayase answered.

"But, then how did you get here?"

"Refinement is unnatural. Sure it makes your alter power stronger, but you pay for that power with your life. I could have held on longer but..."

Kimishima gently turned her towards him. He stood close to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and he looked down into hers.

He hugged her, "I know," he said softly, "you couldn't live in a world where the only people you truly loved weren't by your side."

Section 19: A Bad Dream

It was early morning here on the Lost Ground, and the sun was just beginning to shine down over the hills and the city.

"No! Don't, pleas don't!" little Emergy said in his sleep as the haunting images floated through his mind. "Stop it! Somebody help! Help me!" he cried out in desperation.

The bedroom door few open as Tsume ran in, closely followed by the commander.

"Help! Help!" the young boy cried out.

Tsume sat by the side of his bed, "Emergy! Emergy, wake up!"

Emergy Maxfell sat up quickly as if about to run, and the older man quickly grabbed him.

"It's alright Emergy. No one here is ever going to hurt you, that was just a bad dream," the older man said, trying to calm the frightened child.

Emergy had a wild look in his eyes, like an animal that was being hunted. He quickly looked around the room as if to check to see if what the old man had just said was true.

"But... but, I..." he stopped short when his eyes fell upon the commander. For a moment he stared, trying to remember. A strong feeling told him that he knew the man before him, and not just from the last few days. He put his hand on his forehead as he searched his memory. Suddenly his eyes widened as he made the connection.

A light immersed the child, when it faded an adult alter user was sitting in his place.

Tsume looked at the adult Emergy, and a grin appeared across his face, "You remember."

Commander Zigmarl looked at Emergy in disbelief.

"Co..." Emergy sputtered, "Commander Zigmarl?"

Section 20: Retrospection

"Commander? What are you doing here? What happened?" Emergy asked.

Tsume looked at the child, "Welcome back Emergy"

Emergy looked at the man by his side, "Are you a doctor?"

The elder just smiled, "Tell me," he said, "what is the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing?" he asked, trying to think back. "I was fighting someone."

"Fighting who?" Tsume inquired.

"A native alter, one that was causing a lot of trouble for HOLY."

"And what was this native alter's name?"

"I can't remember exactly, but he had a very powerful right arm."

"Kazuma," Zigmarl whispered.

"Is that it?" Tsume asked the boy.

"Yes," the boy replied.

"Wait," the commander cut in, "but you came back after the fight. "You came back to us. You were alive, but your mind was that of... a child."

"What happened to him after that Commander?" Tsume asked.

The commander was looking at the former HOLY member as he spoke, "he fell into a comma. His mind couldn't take the shock, but I wasn't aware that it killed him."

"You wouldn't have been," Tsume responded, "it happened soon after your own death."

"Killed? Death! What do you mean, what's going on!" Emergy yelled out in frustration.

"Emergy, you died," Tsume said, with a surprisingly steady voice.

"I died?" he asked, the news left him breathless. "If I died, then where am I now? Is this heaven?"

Commander Zigmarl smiled, remembering when he had wondered the same thing.

"It's kind of a long story," Tsume responded, "but we'll go over that all in good time."

Zigmarl looked at the man that moments ago had still been a child. He was a man that had, for many years, worked with him as he tried to bring peace to the Lost Ground.

The commander smiled, "Welcome home Emergy."

* * *

Thanks for reading my story so far. I just wanted to stop and ask everyone who hasn't already responded to it to please do so. Come on! I beg you! I really need some feedback so I know where to take it form here. Plus, the more responses I get to the story, the sooner I am to write the next chapter. Thank You! 


	8. A Return

Chapter 8: A Return 

Section 21: Morning

The others heard the news over breakfast, apparently Emergy was still in his room trying to deal with what happened to him.

Cougar pondered about the situation, "With time everything just becomes a distant memory, but for Emergy his past haunted him like a vengeful spirit. I'm surprised that he was able to recover from that at all."

There was a light cough that caused everyone to draw their attention to the back of the room. Emergy stood in the doorway, being careful not to make any eye contact.

"Ahem, um..." Emergy searched for the right thing to say but then settled with the only thing in his mind, "hi."

The commander gave a weak smile, "did you get much sleep?"

Emergy just shook his head, "Um, where's Tsume?"

"He said that he had some errands to run."

"Right, well if you'll excuse me," Emergy gave a small bow and left.

"We were all shocked about being here but he seems to be taking his death pretty hard," Scheris observed.

Cougar, still looking where the now-grown alter had just been standing, wore a puzzled expression upon his face. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Cougar, wha..." Scheris began.

"You'll have to excuse me. There's something I have to look into," he responded, and without looking back he left the room.

After a moment of stunned silence the blue-haired alter spoke, "just when I begin to think that I have this place figured out."

Section 22: The Guide

Kazuma sat in his hospital chair. He was looking down into a glass of water, watching it move as he swished it around.

He heard a knock on the door, "wow Kimishima, for once your not using the window," he joked.

The door was opened, by an elder man that certainly wasn't Kimishima.

The man had a warm smile on his face, "Kazuma I presume. My name is Tsume, may I come in?"

The alter's mouth hung open like a fly trap, "Um... er..."

"I'll take that as a yes," the man said as he stepped out of the sun and into Kazuma's home.

"Ca, ca" he stuttered, "can I help you?"

Tsume laughed, "I'm not the one that needs the help."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I said."

"So you just came here to tell me that I need help?" Kazuma asked, irritated.

The elder helped himself to Kazuma's seat. "Of course not. You already knew that, I just reminded you."

"Right, but what I don't know is who you are and why you're here."

"Yes," the old man replied, taking his glasses off to clean them with a wipe he kept in his pocket. "As I have already stated, my name is Tsume. I'm a guide here on this Lost Ground."

"This Lost Ground?" Kazuma thought. "So you're a guide? Then are you here to tell me that I don't belong here?"

"No just why would I do that when you are supposed to be here? My job is to help you find out why you are here."

"And why am I here?"

"I can't tell you that."

"And why the hell not!" the angry alter yelled.

"Because I'm not the one that knows the answer to that question."

"Then who does?"

"You do."

"What's with this old man and riddles?" Kazuma mumbled.

"What was that?" Tsume inquired.

"I said you could have fooled me." Kazuma responded, not even bothering to at least try and hide his sarcasm.

Tsume let out a deep sigh, "You came here by passing through the light barrier the other night, what were you doing just before you arrived here?"

Kazuma scratched his head, "Um, I was fighting another alter."

"Another powerful one I take it."

Kazuma grinned, "ya, you could say that."

"So then..." Tsume was interrupted by a rather hard knock on the hospital door. He stood from the chair and walked over to open the door.

"You're up I see," Tsume commented to the visitor.

"Someone you know?" Kazuma asked.

"So do you," the elder responded, stepping back from the door.

Standing in front of the building was a member of HOLY. The man had a grin on his face, "hello NP3228, or, Kazuma was it? I'm sure you remember me, we fought before, my name is Emergy Maxfell." 


	9. Some Familiar Faces

Chapter 9: Some Familiar Faces 

Section 23: The Farmhouse

The elder couple sat on the front porch of their farmhouse, drinking their morning cups of tea and eating some pastries. The alter user Biff was in the yard finishing the morning's chores.

The petals of the flowers that covered the garden opened wide to greet the sun's warm rays.

"Oh, hello my boy," the elder man turned and said with a smile to the young man that had just emerged from within the home, "are you feeling better today?"

"Good Morning. Um, ya, I'm feeling much better," the young man replied.

The elder woman gave him a skeptical look, "well, let me just have another look at that arm."

"Gertrude, he said he was alright," the old man said to his wife. She seemed to pay no attention to this comment as she went up to the boy and began to unwrap the bandage on his arm.

"I'm sorry about this, sometimes there's just no stopping her," the old man apologized.

"Oh hush, Hilbert," Gertrude said to her husband.

The boy laughed, "it's really alright. I'm really grateful for your help during my, um... situation."

"Oh honey, it's really not a problem at all. Well, would you look at that. You're almost completely healed, but it seems that it will leave a small scar."

"Alright, I finished fixing the gate," Biff said as he whipped his hands on an old dirty rag that he carried around with him. He looked over at the boy's arm, "Hey, you're healed."

"Yes. Now I hope you all don't mind, but I was going to go take a look around the Lost Ground today," the young man said.

"Not at all, just be careful," Gertrude said as she walked over to clear the dishes off the small table. "And I'll be expecting you for dinner, Ryuho," she said. She finished wiping the crumbs from the table and went inside her home.

Section 24: Appointment

"Emergy Maxfell? The name doesn't ring any bells, but I know who you are," Kazuma said to the alter user standing in the doorway.

"It seems that I have you to thank for what has happened to me," Emergy said with disdain.

Kazuma's eyebrows rose, "look, I don't know what you're talking about. If you're referring to the fight that we once had then I can't say that I'm sorry being that it was you that came to attack me."

"Perhaps we should continue this outside, I still have another appointment today," Tsume said nonchalantly.

"Hey, who's 'we'!" Kazuma said, annoyed with the old man.

Tsume seemed to ignore this comment as he walked to the door, "So are you coming or not?"

Emergy and Kazuma exchanged glances towards each other and proceeded to exit the old and rundown hospital.

Tsume took about ten steps from the door and into the yard before stopping. He peered down at his watch, "he should be here any moment now." The old man looked up at the road and smiled.

"Who should?" Kazuma thought. He then looked up at the road and saw a figure in the distance that was approaching them. When he looked closely he could make out green hair.

"How the heck did he..."

"The same way as you," Tsume said as he began walking. "Ryuho, right on time," he said.

Ryuho stopped dead in his tracks. A twisted look of confusion was on both his and Kazuam's face as they stood there looking from one person to another.

Ryuho lightly shook his head to help clear his mind, "I'm sorry, on time for what?"

"For our meeting of course," the elder said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Kazuma, Ryuho, you came here by braking through the barrier. No one gets here by accident, meaning that you were let in. Why it let you in, I don't know."

"Why what did?' Ryuho asked.

Tsume looked down at his watch again, "You two have an appointment in the alter forest at noon, I suggest that you leave now."

Ryuho and Kazuma looked at each other, a trip to the alter forest could only mean one thing.

"Let's go back to HOLD Emergy," Tsume said.

"But..." Emergy said in protest.

"You'll have to finish your business some other time," and with that he began walking down the dirt road towards the city. 


	10. Into the Altar Forest

Chapter 10: Into the Altar Forest

Chapter 10: Into the Altar Forest

Section 25: The Long Walk

Ryuho and Kazuma set off to the forest with nothing but silence between them. It was a long walk, and to make things worse the Altar Forest was huge, and so they had no idea where they were expected to end up.

As they got closer to the center of the forest, the air around them began to feel thicker. Though the sun was high in the sky, the aura of the forest made it seem as if it was always twilight.

Few were brave enough to enter the mysterious woods, so as a result there was no path for the two alters to walk upon.

"He's mysterious alright," thought Kazuma, "where the heck is he?"

The atmosphere around them felt heavier the further they went, but, despite this, the mysterious altar was no where to be seen.

"We might as well just wait here," Ryuho said, breaking the silence. "If he is as powerful as they say then he should be able to find us." With that said, Ryuho sat down on a nearby fallen tree.

Hardly any time had passed when the two young men saw a familiar glow that was shining through the trees. The mysterious altar approached them, and behind him was Tsume.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Kazuma, "if you knew that you were going to be here too, then why the hell didn't you just take us here instead of making us waste our time wandering around?"

"I had some things to address too," Tsume responded nonchalantly. "You seemed to have found your way alright without my aid."

Kazuma scoffed at this and turned to see Ryuho's reaction.

Ryuho, however, seemed to have hardly noticed Kazuma and Tsume's little conversation. His eyes were staring straight ahead at the great altar for whom they had come in search of.

The Mysteious Altar let out a loud screeching sound. Ryuho turned to Tsume, perplexed, "how are we supposed to know what he wants of us if we can't understand him?"

"That is why he asked me to come along, I can understand him just fine," Tsume said with a smile.

Section 26: The Fate of the World

Tsume and the two altars walked away from the dark forest. Neither Ryuho nor Kazuma knew what think, they couldn't believe what they had heard.

The very idea that what had happened to the Kanagawa Prefecture to make it into the Lost Ground could begin happening all over the world was almost unbelievable.

"Why did he choose to tell us about all of this?" Ryuho asked Tsume.

"The World is evolving," the elder man answered, "and you two have done the best to evolve with it."

"But that wasn't our choice," Ryuho pointed out.

"No my boy, that was fate."

"And we are supposed to…"

"Help with the transition."

"And how do we do that?"

"That is up to the two of you, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Section 27: The Girls Back Home

"Kanami, it's time for us to make dinner!" Mimori called out the window of the old rundown hospital.

"I'll be right in!" the young girl called back, setting down her shovel and removing her gloves. She had been trying to start up a small garden in the yard as a surprise for when Kazuma finally came back to her. She then turned and walked into the building to get washed up.

"I bought some chicken in the market this morning, so we can cook it up with the vegetables that you brought home from the farm," Mimori said, with a smile on her face.

She had left Azuka's home and moved in with Kanami soon after Kazuma and Ryuho vanished into the sky. She couldn't stand the idea of the eight-year-old girl being alone, and though Kanami didn't need anyone to watch over her she enjoyed the company of the young woman.

Once Kanami was finished washing her hands she turned to look at Mimori. The young woman was looking out the window up at the sky, as she so often did, while holding her pendant in her right hand.

"You're thinking about Ryuho again," the young girl commented.

"Yes, I am. I'm just worried. I know that he's alright, wherever he is, but what could he possibly be doing up there?"

"Something is going to happen… something big."

Mimori looked over at Kanami, her eyes were wide with shock at what she had just said, "What do you mane something big? Ryuho… Kazuma… are they going to be alright?"

"They're going to help everyone with the transition."

"With what transition?"

"I don't know yet, I just know that it's something big."

Mimori couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was what Kanami was saying true? Or was it just the result of being away from Kazuma for so long?

Just then there came an urgent knock on the door which Mimori quickly walked over to answer.

"Azuka! What's wrong? Please, come in." Mimori directed the young man into the space that was used as the living room.

"I don't think that the mainland is going to be concerning itself with the Lost Ground anymore." he said, while he was trying to catch his breath after running there with the news.

"What? That's wonderful! How do you know? Why did they change their mind?" Mimori asked, excited at the idea that the may not end up being a war of the altars versus the Main Land.

Azuka was shaking his head, "because we are no longer the _only_ Lost Ground."


End file.
